Jordi Murphy meets future stars at Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup

400 children from counties nationwide play on hallowed turf at Aviva Stadium

Aviva, a proud supporter of Irish Rugby, celebrated Ireland’s opening clash against Scotland in Japan by hosting hundreds of kids from all four provinces at the 2019 Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup on Sunday, September 22nd. Irish Rugby star Jordi Murphy was on hand to kick off proceedings as stars of the future were treated to a festival of Rugby and given the opportunity to shine at the home of Irish Rugby.

Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup - Jordi Murphy with future stars

Just after Ireland’s winning tournament opener against Scotland, 20 Boys’ U10 and Girls’ U12 teams from counties nationwide imitated their heroes as each team was twinned with a country competing in Japan, each ensuring plenty of colour was on display.

Aviva provided 400 kids with the opportunity to fulfil dreams and play on the hallowed turf of Aviva stadium to showcase their #SafeToDream campaign.

The Minis season will continue over the coming weeks with the 2019 Aviva Mini Rugby Provincial Festivals set to take place throughout the country. Giving both girls’ U12s and boys’ U10s teams the chance to develop as players at grassroots level, the festivals provide a safe and fun environment. Four provincial locations will host the festivals with the events taking place in the following clubs:

  • 6th October: Munster Provincial Festival – UL Bohemians, Limerick
  • 12th October: Ulster Provincial Festival – Bangor, Co. Down
  • 13th October: Leinster Provincial Festival – DLS Palmerston, Dublin
  • 19th October: Connacht Provincial Festival – Corinthians, Galway
  • 29th March: Girls National Festival – Venue TBC
Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup - kids standing shoulder to shoulder
Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup - young kid running with ball

Jordi Murphy, Irish rugby player said:It’s great to be here today at the Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup. Seeing the talent and enthusiasm on display is brilliant and shows that the future of Irish rugby is in safe hands. I have very happy memories playing with my friends from a young age and would have loved an opportunity like this! You never forget your first time running out on to the pitch here in Aviva Stadium, so I think giving these kids a chance to play here is a dream come true for a lot of them!

Speaking at the tournament, Lisa Bergin, Sponsorship Manager, Aviva Ireland said “Today is a really special day for us at Aviva as we celebrate and reward the future stars of Irish Rugby here at Aviva Stadium. The colour, noise, and passion shown by each team was brilliant to see and we’re delighted to host kids from all corners of the country at the Mini Rugby Nations Cup.

The good news is that the Minis season continues, and we will be in Limerick, Down, Dublin and Galway next month for the 2019 Aviva Mini Rugby Provincial Festivals.

Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup Video

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Transcript 

00:00:02 Jordi Murphy, Irish International Player

We're here supporting the Aviva Mini Rugby Nations Cup. It’s great day so far, the weather has held off for us and everything which is perfect. There was over 1,000 entries to come here today and there has been 20 clubs selected so it's very inclusive and has been a great day so far.

00:00:15 Brian O’Neill, Aviva Insurance

Girls and boys getting an opportunity to be like their heroes and emulate their heroes and do something I never did, which is to play at the Aviva Stadium.

00:00:24 Jordi Murphy

Watching the TV and looking at your heroes playing there and then next thing you find yourself on the pitch itself. It would have been incredible.

00:00:29 Mulingar Minis

At the beginning everybody was cheering and laughing and got to run around the pitch and I felt quite proud, because the Irish team have played here and so did I.

00:00:37 Mark Brennan, Parent & Coach from Mullingar RFC

I think it has a great impact on them for the fun and enjoyment out of today, but I think the bigger impact is that they will keep at rugby and the fact that we got the parents to come up, the parents just wanted to be there and wanted to look at their kids playing on the pitch.

00:00:48 Brian O’Neill

The stadium is not just about the international team and we want to support it as a as a company. That's committed to being a sustainable and socially responsible company. We want to give something back to the community.

00:00:59 Video ends

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